I can't believe it's almost St. Patrick's Day! We've officially lived in this house for two months, in a kitchen that is wood and olive-colored and a dining room we play Scrabble on. The dogs bark at the birds that dance in the trees and I wait for Nolan to come from a 12-hour shift before we eat dinner. This St. Patrick's Day will be quiet, as they tend to be now.

I used to wear green paint on my face and black out on the strip of bars downtown in Pittsburgh. My fake ID would bend in my wallet and beer was cheap and dyed. Three years in a row and it never felt like I was doing it right. And in California, when it was just the two of us, I had no reason to really celebrate then.

But it's different here, as I tend to say. I celebrate the small things, the holidays that aren't just for gifts and drinking. I made this Lucky Charms puppy chow with Nolan one Saturday and we laughed and kissed along the way. It's these small victories of getting older that make me appreciate Nolan standing by my side.

Lucky Charms Puppy Chow

Ingredients:

2 cups confectioner's sugar

3 TB matcha powder

1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

1 1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup white chocolate

2 TB unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 box Lucky Charms

Directions:

Shake to combine sugar and matcha in a large brown paper bag

In a Dutch oven, heat marshmallow, peanut butter, chocolate, and butter on medium-high and stir constantly until melted

Add your box of cereal and stir to coat completely

Add salt to taste (it will be sweet and the salt will cut a lot of this)

Allow to cool slightly and then add in parts to your paper bag

Shake to coat and pour into a bowl

Repeat and enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! And celebrate the immigrants that made this country.